Provide a last ditch effort at finding financing for their boondoggle.

Having trouble raising tens of millions of dollars? Maybe you can sue the taxpayers and make them pay for it.

Brilliant!

And the Webbs are having trouble raising funds for their dumb project. It’s been 7 years since it was announced and so far nothing’s happened and no investors are biting. Their first major “tenant” long ago pulled out, their desperate attempts to sell bonds have been about to start for four months in a row [see RobMorris’ excellent full timeline].

At a City Council meeting on Thursday, the Webbs’ partner, Joe Rosenberg, tried to cast the CentrePointe project as a charity case:

Which is funny given the fact ol’ Joe ran a pawn shop on the block that was long in his family.

Where’s this guy when you need him?

After the CentrePointe block was torn down, receipt books from that pawn shop were pulled out of the rubble that showed decades of pawned engagement and wedding rings (among other things; that was the saddest), the date they were brought in and what was paid for them and promised for them. I’ve always thought that if you see someone struggling you help them, not kick them. But hey, what do I know about running a pawn shop.

In the Webbs’ letter on Friday threatening a lawsuit, they claim the recent action of Lexington’s government — which pointed out that contractually the Webbs are obliged to fill in their hole after 60 days of inactivity, which has long passed — caused them to lose a potential tenant and thus they’re litigious/trying to raise investment capital by suing the city. The Herald Leader reports:

Because of the negative publicity the city’s demand letter has generated, one of the tenants for the project has pulled out, the letter said. The tenant was not named in the letter.

Getty confirmed that Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse, which has restaurants in Louisville and Cincinnati, withdrew from the project after CentrePointe received the city’s notice Tuesday.

Getty said that developers hope if the city withdraws the notice, Ruby will return.

Jeff Ruby is not an idiot. He is a shrewd guy, a smart businessman, gregarious and cool enough to hang out with Drake and smoke cigars because, well, life is good.

After seven years of total incompetence, did it really take a letter from a supposedly impotent city government to make Ruby sit up and think, “These Webb characters have literally no idea what they’re doing, do they?”

Well, in fact, no.

The entire basis of the Webbs’ litigious letter is that Ruby pulled out after the city’s actions.

But…

Ruby’s been tired of the Webbs’ BS for sometime.

In January, Ruby was “frustrated”:

By February, he was apathetic:

And on March 12th he’d had enough.

“Not doing it,” he tweeted. “Looking for a different location now.

A month and nearly a half later, after the city of Lexington sent the Webbs a letter pointing out that no work on the construction and completion had been accomplished in at least 60 days, Ruby seemed to reiterate what he’d already decided: this nonsense isn’t worth the trouble.

The entire legal case the Webbs are building is built off the back of the idea that the letter from Lexington pointing out that their agreement had been violated somehow magically alerted one of their tenants to the fact that the project was massively delayed (7 years!) and making zero progress toward completion.

It should surprise no one that the construction of the Webbs’ legal case is as nonexistent as the construction of their imaginary development.

CentrePointe is a hole in the ground, and so is the Webb legal argument.

Now, when I asked Jeff Ruby about all this he tried valiantly to make everything nice. He said that after his March 12 tweet, he and the Webbs “patched things up next day.” But when I asked Jeff if he ended the project this past week because of the city’s letter or if he was just tired of being jerked around by the Webbs — who, you’ll recall, have been jerking even their own supporters around for over seven years — the excellent Mr. Ruby didn’t respond.

No answer.

In January he was frustrated, by February he seemed to have given up, and in March he actually did give up.

This past week Ruby gave up again. But the Webb brothers want you to believe this was a first time thing, a direct result of the city’s contractually obliged actions, rather than a continuation of a serious credibility problem they have with their own investors and partners. It’s an argument that insults the citizens of Lexington, and perhaps more importantly to the Webbs own case, insults the intelligence of Mr. Ruby, their supposed partner.

If the Webbs would drive their own investors and partners away, why would the city be any different?

If they think the citizens of Lexington are too stupid to understand what’s going on (or, as the case is, not going on), how dumb do they think their investors are?

And here’s the Webb letter as images with literal pages of supporting evidence and impenetrable legalese which has been translated by B&P’s legal advisory team:

Simpler Webb:

What is the definition of “no”? For that matter, what does “toward” or “completion” even mean? What is a “Parking Garage”? Are not two cranes and an occasional dune buggy parked up on this site? Has not Uncle Dudley’s Big Wheel been spotted lying idle on its side in a spring puddle? Is that hole not actually in fact a garage?

Does not the time one spends on the morning john contemplating work that could potentially be done at some distant hypothetical point constitute in itself “work”?

Simpler Webb:

Apparently during the winter months it “snows” and is “cold” and then it starts to “rain” all of which confounds construction companies round the world. History clearly shows that all structures ever built were built during times of extended temperate drought. Hopefully during this thing called “summer” it won’t then become “blazing hot” and “unbearably humid.” We do not understand these earthly conditions.

As evidence below will demonstrate, and as the dates mentioned above make clear, very occasional maintenance of the CentrePitte constitutes in itself work toward the completion of CentrePointe, for if the hole were not merely and intermittently maintained over years of total inactivity, there would be no “work” done and thus the hole would be filled with dirt and covered with grass which is not “work toward completion” but in fact a hindrance of completion, thus, maintaining the status quo of the hole is by definition work toward completion. It makes sense because it is a circle of reasoning and circles make sense.

Furthermore, LFUCG’s letter of a day ago demonstrably and perhaps irreparably damaged the supposed good standing of the Webbs and their failed CentrePointe project in the community and among potential investors who, heretofore, had zero knowledge that this hole even existed nor the fact that it has existed for two years, nor, further, that the entire project has been a failure for nearly eight years, nor further that the Webbs have been failures in their own right for four decades. Had the letter of yesterday not been written, the good people of Lexington and the mysterious dead investors of the world would have continued on in a state of total ignorance as is the common state of the common man, of which the Webbs are not. Prior to sending this letter, there was literally zero knowledge of the project’s failed history — easilyaccessiblegoogle reports and an extensive recent local TV news story notwithstanding. This letter from LFUCG was clearly an act of terror, and now the whole entire world thinks this project is a failure whereas a day before no one ever suspected that the Webbs were liars.

Simpler Webb:

Oh! And another thing, that letter from a day ago caused a totally unnamed prime tenant to move out. This unnamed supposed tenant had literally zero knowledge that a project which has sat idle for eight years through a series of bungling mismanagements and dysfunctions by the developer might be in trouble. Then LFUCG went and wrote that letter. The tenant was really, really, really stupid and was prepared to hand over lots of money without doing any due diligence but then they read some letter from some guy in a city government which, as was stated at the outset of this reply, has zero power. Powerless government has no power to destroy this already destroyed project and has now destroyed this already destroyed project which is, as point of fact, why it’s already destroyed… because of this letter from LFUCG.

Simpler Webb:

See! Work! The poorly constructed walls of the hole were falling apart due to total inactivity at the work site and the Webbs own shoddy construction standards. So workers worked to work at nailing a couple two by fours to the poorly constructed wall which clearly, is yet another significant step toward completion of the parking garage. Two by fours! Shoddy construction rectified! Work!

Simpler Webb:

Don’t email me.

Simpler Webb:

Did we ever pay these guys? We have a terrible track record of not paying our contractors. Does anyone remember if we paid these guys?

“So this notion that somehow going out and meeting the voters, speaking on the courthouse steps, shaking hands at the factory gate — all of which we do, you understand — is somehow a better way to communicate with our potential supporters astounds me. ‘Cause I can’t recall having had very many detailed discussions of the great issues of the day standing there bleary eyed at 4:30 a.m. working the plant gate. For those of you that haven’t tried it it’s a fascinating experience. I don’t mind doing it, but I don’t think it’s particularly enlightening.”
–MITCH McCONNELL

Mitch McConnell wrapped up his campaigning on Saturday in Scott County where he joined Andy Barr and other Republicans to rally a small crowd of supporters on the courthouse steps as the sun set. A fitting end.

The National Pro-Life Alliance is out with its 2014 endorsements — releasing them on the weekend before the election for some reason. It’s a pretty sad report since the vast, vast, vast majority of candidates from both parties simply ignored the NPLA questionnaire. But not everyone did.

Andy Barr responded to the “2014 Pro-Life Candidate Survey” and in so doing, re-affirms his belief that survivors of rape and incest should be forced by the heavy hand of the government to carry a pregnancy to term.

Andy Barr’s response also clearly establishes that the extremist Tea Party congressman believes that “emergency contraception” pills which are routinely given, for example, to women who have just been raped should be banned.

Andy Barr also affirms that he will “support and co-sponsor a Life at Conception Act defining that life begins at the moment of conception.”

“Will you support legislation which, under Article III, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, would remove from the federal courts jurisdiction over the question of abortion?”

Yes. That’s right! In Andy Barr’s understanding of America, if the Constitution ain’t breaking their way, the checks and balances of government should no longer exist. Now if only Andy could get that piece of legislation similarly stricken from the jurisdiction of the courts, then the abortion legislation wouldn’t immediately be struck down.

Here are the questions:

(click to enlarge)

Note the Note: “These are the exact questions that were sent to the rival candidates for United States House and Senate in your state. We encourage you to use your power as a voter. Insist your candidates support the above pro-life measures.”

Here are Andy Barr’s answers:

You’ll note that Hal Rogers did not reply. Neither did Brett Guthrie or Mitch McConnell (again, you can click here to see the whole document). You may also notice that the totally pointless Democrat running against Hal Rogers did respond to the survey — and that, curiously, on Question #10 there is not a YES or a NO but rather an Asterisk.

What does that mean?

Well, here’s questions #10:

“Will you support an amendment to the U.S. Constitution banning abortion except to save the life of the mother?”

And here’s what an * means:

Got that?

If there’s an * for Question #10, then you support a Constitutional amendment that bans all abortions unless the woman was raped.

But if you answer a straight up YES to #10, as Andy Barr clearly did, then you tell that raped woman to shove it.

Andy Barr doesn’t believe the survivors of rape and incest have suffered enough and he personally wants to shove his Big Government laws down their throats.

Life of the mother? Andy Barr will reluctantly allow an abortion if the mom would die.

Pregnancy results from rape? Andy Barr’s message to the lady-voters: Suck It Up.

For good measure, here’s the “Backgrounder & Explanation” information provided by the National Pro-Life Alliance on their questionnaire:

(click to enlarge)

Good thing the nation’s largest organization of pro-abortion OB/GYNs put their money behind Andy Barr’s candidacy because they felt “medical malpractice reform” was more important than the health and welfare of the women they treat.

Via the incomparable ACASignups.net, clear evidence that the most powerful website in all the Bluegrass is literally ripping the Commonwealth apart, putting tens of millions of hard working Kentuckians out of work and cost the state literally trillions upon trillions of taxpayer dollars.

Barr is finishing his first term in Congress while Jensen, who runs an education nonprofit in Lexington, is making her first run for office.

Jensen said she would give President Barack Obama a B- for his job performance, saying he’s been good for economy and the healthcare exchange that prompted the creation of Kynect, which has more than 500,000 Kentuckians enrolled.

The University of Kentucky’s Chandler Hospital has seen its inpatient numbers rise by 5 percent and its outpatient numbers rise by 10 percent since July. But its number of uninsured patients has dropped, from about 9 percent to 2.5 percent.

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Medical Center has seen its number of uninsured patients drop since the state expanded Medicaid.

Prior to this year, says Chandler’s Dr. Michael Karpf, “we were getting paid 10 cents on the dollar” serving low-income patients. “Now we are getting 40 cents on the dollar, so the cost of care for these people isn’t totally covered, but there is a lot more reimbursement. It means we are having very strong bottom lines in the hospital.”

Kentuckians wondering whether our state needs the Affordable Care Act should look to Mississippi, which offers a sobering example of what happened after that state’s efforts to launch “Obamacare” collapsed amid partisan bickering and tea party politics

A report this week in Kaiser Health News shows that the blow fell on the state’s most impoverished and sickest citizens, leaving Mississippi — already the country’s poorest state — “trapped in a severe and intractable health care crisis.”